Our third annual TOAcon was held in December on the spectacular Boracay island in the Philippines – one of the top island tourism destinations in the world – which boasts pearly-white beaches, spectacular sunsets, cyan seas, and powder-dusted shores. It was unlike any other industry event.
Over 100 TOA Global clients attended from the U.S., Australia, and other nations – each accounting firm already well into their offshoring journey.
Fostering change, growth, and connection
TOAcon 2022 offered these business leaders the perfect opportunity to hear from a stellar lineup of world-class speakers, while also networking and sharing ideas with industry peers and building relationships with like-minded, pioneering teams through unforgettable conference experiences.
Our careful selection of sought-after speakers and industry leaders took the stage to share their insights at TOAcon, including:
- Brian Smith – Founder of world-famous UGG Australia
- Jane Anderson – Strategic Communications Expert
- Joey Coleman – Advisor, Speaker, and Teacher
- Paul Taylor – Director of the Mind-Body-Brain Performance Institute
- Stan Phelps – Forbes Contributor, TEDx Speaker, IBM Futurist and Best-selling Author
- Paul Dunn – Co-Founder of B1G1: Business for Good
- Dr Jessica Gallagher – Summer & Winter Paralympic Medallist
- Nick Sinclair – Founder of TOA Global and the Ab2 Institute of Accounting
- Kelly Segat – Chief Customer Officer, TOA Global
- Craig Mansell – CEO of TOA Global and Ab2 Institute of Accounting
The TOAcon 2022 experience – captured
‘Quality everywhere’: Feedback from TOAcon 2022 participants
“20+ years of corporate conferences across a number of disciplines and this was the BEST quality line-up of speakers I’ve seen. Quality everywhere! Every single speaker gave away multiple usable nuggets of gold.”
— Gavin Lamb
Senior Financial Advisor at Navigate Advisors
““I was lucky enough to attend #TOAcon this week and was blown away by just how great of an event the TOA Global team put on. From the beautiful location of Boracay, getting to listen and learn from an array of high quality key note speakers, meeting amazing people and most importantly getting a deeper understanding of the values that drive TOA Global to continually focus on how to add value to its customers, team members, the accounting industry and the local communities they operate in.””
— Grant Williams
Partner at HMV Group
“I have the privilege of going to dozens of conferences. TOAcon has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The mix of location, the ability to interact with attendees, the dynamic agenda, and all of the small touches made it truly special.”
— Stan Phelps
CSP, Author & Speaker
“It wasn’t like Nick and his team said it would be, that sounded good. Not, it was way, way better than that, it seemed they were holding back. You had to wait and see what was coming up next. It was a gathering in paradise with some of the most amazing achievers.”
— Michael McAllister
CPA, Principal, Great Accounting
“Thank you TOA Global for a conference to remember. The ultimate paradise location, incredible attendees and world class speakers #TOAcon”
— Karen Conlon
FCPA, SMSF Specialist Advisor, SumTotal Accounting & Business
“Huge value taken back to my business from this event!”
— Mick Alcorn
Business owner, Ignition Accountants
“A week in the Philippines that has completely exceeded my expectations! The community here, the beautiful Boracay island, the incredible speakers and the organization of the TOAcon team – thank you. I’ve learnt so much and met some amazing people.”
— Melissa Voss
Co-founder and Head of Clients and Partners at FuseWorks
“Well done TOA Global on the best conference of 2022!”
— Ben Gill
Executive Director at LightYearDocs
“Thanks TOA Global for the remarkable few days at TOAcon. Great location and perfect weather (did not expect this for December). Had lots of opportunity to meet new people and talk to existing partners face to face. The speakers are fantastic. I will be sure to apply what I learned from their talks both at work and my personal life.”
— Ryan Adeva
ApprovalMax Partner Account Manager
Speaker insights not to be missed
Joey Coleman – Advisor, Speaker, and Teacher
“From the outset, I knew TOAcon was going to be different,” says Joey Coleman. What really stood out for him apart from the beautiful location, was that 95% of the attendees chose to stick around for all the presentations from the start in the morning to when they ended in the evening, throughout the duration of TOAcon.
“Normally when you have a beach just over there competing with you, it’s really difficult to keep folks in the room. I think the reason for that is there were incredible speakers. I was honoured to be included in such an amazing line-up of luminaries, thought leaders, folks that you’ve heard of before, folks that you can’t believe you’ve never heard of before but you’ll never forget after.”
On his biggest takeaways from the challenges of the past few years, Joey explains that he’s excited to see the way the past few years have changed how much more people value the in-person, human-to-human interactions, because those human interactions give us a reason for living. We’re seeing a renewed interest to make the most of the opportunities that are presented to us to connect.
Joey Coleman summed up TOAcon 2022 perfectly when he said, “The thing that was really different was the spirit and the energy and the heart that the TOA Global team has. It was so abundantly clear in the remarks from the executives and the team, and the way the team was interacting with the attendees, that this is an organisation and an event that truly cares about the people they serve, the humans they serve – whether that’s clients, whether that’s audience members, whether it’s employees – it was clear that there’s a type of heart-centred leadership, care and compassion that was pervasive across the entire organisation. It was a just a real honour and a treat to be in the presence of that human-focused, human-centric approach.”
Dr Jessica Gallagher – Summer & Winter Paralympic Medalist
Dr Jessica Gallagher says her experience of TOAcon 2022 was a huge privilege and an awe-inspiring opportunity filled with positivity and happiness.
This year 2022 has been about learning to shift her mindset through the challenges and accept the changes as they come. “Often, on the other side of the fear is something incredible that we can take away from it.”
Going into 2023, Jessica’s goal is to work out how to enhance the things she is doing – become a better athlete, a better speaker and figure out how to give back to her communities more. “I think for me, in essence, it’s always about personal growth. How can I just be a little bit better version of myself than I was the year before?”
She encouraged attendees to ask themselves, “What is it that I’m going to do next and how am I going to get there?”
Brian Smith – Founder of UGG Australia
Brian Smith, who speaks at about 20 to 30 conferences around the world each year, describes TOAcon as one of the best conferences he’s ever been to. From the organisation of the events to the attendees, the camaraderie, tight-knit group and the interactions.
“The class of speakers has been outstanding. I rarely stick around at a conference and listen to other speakers, but I stayed and watched every other speaker because the line-up was so good.”
Like most of those in attendance at the conference, Brian described Boracay island as one of the best parts of the experience and would recommend signing up for TOAcon 2023. Not only because of the standard of the event itself and the valuable insights on offer, but because of what it does to strengthen the bonds between industry leaders and their teams.
Jane Anderson – Strategic Communications Expert
Jane Anderson described the most special aspect of TOAcon for her as the human connection and being able to talk to people face to face. As she describes it, there is nothing more valuable than being able to talk to someone about their business and share ideas and experiences. TOAcon also offered plenty of opportunities for fun, excitement, and relaxation.
Speaking of the most valuable lessons of 2022, this is what she learned:
- Agility and being able to recognise how fast things are changing, and working out how to adapt to the landscape while listening to what the customers really want.
- The importance of community and learning how to lean on others while trying to navigate the changing landscape. Having the right people around, who can relate to your experiences and help you work through the challenges, makes all the difference. This does so much for your business growth and personal growth.
As we come out of three difficult years of trying to adapt and work through challenges in the industry, there’s a lot more clarity now for business leaders about where we’re heading in 2023, and a better understanding of the specific areas of focus and development. Having this understanding leads to better positioning for businesses and better customer experiences.
TOAconnect 2022
The fun didn’t end at the conference. TOAconnect was held at our TOA Global offices in Manila, Clark, Tarlac and Cebu. Leaders had the opportunity to spend invaluable time with their global team members.
TOAconnect is dedicated to strengthening relationships between business owners and team members so activities included team-building exercises, office and facility tours, and Q&A sessions, which build connection and trust through face-to-face interactions.
TOAconnect concluded with an exciting Hollywood-themed year-end party, an event that all team members look forward to as a chance to dress up and celebrate the year’s successes.
TOAcon 2023
As everyone processes the excitement of TOAcon 2022, TOAcon 2023 plans are underway for another unforgettable industry event.
Next year, we’re taking TOAcon to the gorgeous Gold Coast, Australia, giving you another unique opportunity to:
- Hear from world-class speakers and discover how you can position your business for growth.
- Take time to focus on your own and your business’s health, successes, and opportunities.
- Network, learn, and share with industry peers.
TOA Global is a leading global talent solutions provider for the accounting industry which helps you scale efficiently in every phase of your business cycle, providing highly-skilled outsourced accountants. To learn how we can help your business run even better, book a free strategy call.
